Earlier today, Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan made a historic call from İmralı Island Prison where he has been held since 1999, when he was arrested in Kenya and handed over to Turkey as a result of an international conspiracy.

In the video message published by ANF, the Kurdish leader highlighted the importance of voluntarily taking the weapons away and ensuring the comprehensive activities of a legally authorized commission to be established in TBMM [Turkish Grand National Assembly] as part of the ‘Peace and Democratic Society’ process that started with his February 27 call.

The historic call by Öcalan, a first since his imprisonment in Imralı, was met with excitement and hope.

Zeki Kılıç, Co-Chair of MATUHAYDER (Marmara Association for Assistance and Solidarity with the Families of Those Detained and Convicted), spoke to ANF about Öcalan’s video call.

Stating that the call was important and demonstrated how valuable the struggle is, Kılıç said, “Hearing Mr. Öcalan's voice on screen, even after 26 years, was also a sign of the reality of the struggle.”

Kılıç continued: “Communal comradeship truly demonstrates how valuable this struggle is for us. In this sense, as families of prisoners, we view this process from a perspective that embraces it and is based on Mr. Öcalan’s statements. We have many friends behind bars who have served their sentences but are not released, and we want them to be free. We can say that this approach is based on the paradigm that the freedom of the individual is the freedom of society, and the freedom of society is the freedom of the individual.”

Stating that the call was historic and entailed responsibility, Kılıç said: “The call is truly important to us; its remarks are historic. It paves the way for the construction of a democratic society, the strengthening of peace, and the contribution of those in prison to this peace.”

Kılıç pointed out that the video call sparked home among the families of the prisoners, adding: “We can repeat our saying that ‘hope is more valuable than victory’. Now, the AKP government and the state must take democratic steps. We are waiting for steps to be taken to ensure that the peace and democracy process proceeds in a more sincere and productive manner and that the concerns of our families are addressed. This must be stated very clearly. Mr. Öcalan's statements have further clarified the views of the society that advocates for peace and democracy. In the video, we clearly saw morale, motivation, hope, and the determination to resolve this issue. As families, we are hopeful. We believe that we will crown this process with the gains of a democratic society. As the association of families of prisoners, we are committed to continuing our struggle until no comrade remains behind bars. We will continue our struggle by including our friends who will be released from prisons in this process.”